Week 1: Offensive struggles, Sneaky bad day for the defense, Mac Jones performs

The Patriots drop the season opener to Miami 16-17. The big takeaway for a lot of people is how well Mac Jones looked. While only holding the Dolphins to 17 points, not many say the defense is at fault. The Patriots' defense was sneaky bad in this game, breaking in some big moments.

This doesn't excuse the offense whatsoever, they surely had their issues. The bright spot is rookie QB Mac Jones. Jones went 29/39 for 281 and 1 TD. After starting with a bit of a meltdown on the first play, Jones regained his poise and had a very good game.

Even with the 39 passes, the playcalling was still a bit conservative, specifically in the red zone. Jones would get them down into the red zone, which turned into runs plays on first and second down, to a third down pass. They basically took the ball out of Mac's hands in the red zone. I get it, he is a rookie QB. But, when that's all that's working, it's fair to second guess that playcalling especially since Damien Harris was all beat up with a full workload after Stevenson was ultimately benched for his early fumble. The offense only scored one TD all day, the rest of their trips resulted in either a field goal or a turnover.

The offense had its fair share of struggles. The defense, however, does not get a free pass.

If you ignore Miami's first drive of the game, first drive of the second half, and the final drive of the game, the Patriots' defense had a really good day. But, since the Patriots lost this game, we're not going to ignore those drives.

Miami's first drive. Tua Tagovailoa (who, Patriots fans LOVE to rip on and for good reason) walks all the way down the and scores on an RPO. He basically walks into the endzone when Josh Uche falls for the fake. Coming out of the gate, the Patriots could not stop Tua.

Miami's first drive of the second half, same kind of deal. Parker makes a big catch over JC Jackson, Gaskin cuts left for a 15 yard gain while Judon fails to set the edge, followed by some plays in the wildcat that gained a first down, and a Tua pass to Jaylen Waddle who beats Kyle Dugger and Joejuan Williams to the goal line. The Patriots' defense, yet again, had no answer.

To the defense's credit, they do get the Jonathan Jones interception mid in the 4th quarter, which sets up the offense to make something happen.

Miami's final drive of the game, after the Harris fumble. They get a holding penalty which creates a 1st and 14 at their own 5-yard line. The first play with 3:24 to go in the 4th, slant to Parker for 14 yards, he beats Jalen Mills. 2nd and 1, handoff up the middle for a first down, Patriots use their first timeout. With 2:36 remaining, the Patriots have 2 timeouts left, plus the two-minute warning. 1st and 10, handoff to Malcolm Brown for 5 yards, followed by a 4-yard run. 3rd and 1 and no timeouts remaining, Jacoby Brissett sneaks it across for the first down, ending the game.

While yes, the Damien Harris fumble was a killer and inexcusable. But, what the defense did in those key moments was a joke. The secondary could not stop Tua (Who again, to Patriots fans is a bottom tier QB) and this "revamped front 7" got the ball ran down their throat with the game on the line, with over 3 minutes left, 3 timeouts plus the two-minute warning, with Miami backed out at their own 5-yard line.

Yes, it's week one. No, it's not time to panic. But, to come out of that game saying "Well, I liked what I saw" doesn't seem totally right. This was a game that we should have won, we lost to a team that Patriots fans love to say "Isn't good," and it makes next week a must-win.